1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a safety cane strap for maintaining a cane handle against a user's palm.
2. Description of the Related Art
For many people, canes are essential for mobility. However, there are many obstacles that make it difficult to maneuver with a cane. For example, there are many situations which may startle a user and cause the user to momentarily release their grip on the cane handle such as, for example, a child or dog pulling on the cane, an inadvertent kick of the cane, or the cane getting caught in a terrain feature. When this happens, the cane can fall from the user in an instant. For the elderly and infirm, a lost or dropped cane can be extremely difficult or impossible to retrieve.
Wrist straps, which have one end connected to the cane, are employed to maintain the cane in close proximity to the user. Examples of such straps are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,758 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,385. While such straps help keep the cane in the vicinity of the user, it is still difficult to get the cane back into the user's grip quickly after the cane has been released because the cane hangs from the user's wrist.
Furthermore, some wrist straps have a safety release feature that allows detachment of the wrist strap. An example of this is described in US Patent App. Pub. No. 2005/0005404. However, the known wrist straps with the safety release feature have the same problem as the wrist straps mentioned above. That is, it is still difficult to get the cane back into the user's grip quickly after the cane has been released because the cane hangs from the user's wrist.